


Something Weird This Way Comes

by hgleiser



Series: Wrong Direction [14]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Halloween, Haunted Houses, M/M, Ouija
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-08-29 15:37:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8495785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hgleiser/pseuds/hgleiser
Summary: All the members of Wrong Direction have heard Fernando's stories about their house being haunted by the legendary Ayrton Senna, but what they're not prepared for is them coming true!  Rated teen for mild swearing.  All the half-price candy for L. and A. for seeing me through this one/reading bits and pieces I managed to write while under the weather the past week.





	

If anyone had asked Mark to list the things he’d have expected to be part of the job once he and Fernando had taken over managing Wrong Direction, he’d have said making appointments for appearances, booking flights, and helping security fend off hordes of teenage girls(and, for reasons he felt better for not understanding, their mums). Normal things. Things his business school degree had actually prepared him for.

Sitting with Fernando and their five charges in a circle around a Ouija board in a candlelit living room getting gently sloshed on cheap booze was neither.

“Whose idea was this again?”

Five voices answered in unison. “Lewis!”

“Our house is _not_ haunted, Lewis.” Fernando shook his head, trying for the third time that day to reason with him. “Senna was killed at the race. Why would his ghost be here?”

“You said his spirit was stuck here because he wanted to be at peace away from where he knew he’d be seen. Remember?”

“Is not real. I liked seeing all of you scared.” Fernando grinned and pried the cap off a bottle of beer then took a sip, a smile meant for only Mark crinkling the skin around his eyes. “Especially you.”

“For the record, Nano, I wasn’t scared. I was cold. You know how it is.”

“You fall asleep holding me like a stuffed animal.”

Mark gritted his teeth as his face grew red. “Not in front of them...”

“Awwww, just like you,” Jenson whispered in Sebastian’s ear. “You always love a good cuddle.”

Sebastian drew his knees up to his chest and buried his face in them a moment until Jenson’s gentle caress of his lower back had him lifting his head again. “Later.”

Jenson nodded in understanding then kissed the top of Sebastian’s head, at which Nico couldn’t resist nudging Lewis. “Awwwwwww, look at them. Either get married or get a room.”

Lewis, however, had his nose buried in the board’s instruction booklet. “Rule three: never use the Ouija board in your home. The negative energy from bad ghosts can affect you. You're at rest and want to feel comfortable in your home, a place where you're most vulnerable. The last thing you want is negative energy swirling about, affecting your mood, causing problems in your family, and nightmares while you sleep. Guys, maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all...”

“Mate, I stayed up all night to win this one on eBay because you were convinced an older one would work better. I don’t think the spirits care if it’s authentic vintage.” Jenson tore open a roll of Smarties and grinned. “Mmm, haven’t had these since I was a kid even before Halloween was popular here.”

Mark groaned. “As the oldest bastard here, I say let’s get on with it. There’s only so much I can take without being completely drunk. Who’s up first? Fonz?”

Fernando leaned into Mark’s side and held on. “No. Someone else.”

“Kimi?”

Kimi placed his fingers on top of the planchette. “Is no big deal. I saw James Hunt once.”

“Probably while drunk,” teased Sebastian. “Yes?”

Kimi’s only answer was a fleeting smile and a shrug.

“Go on...” urged Lewis, barely able to contain his excitement. “Ask him something!”

“What are you doing here?”

The planchette slowly glided across the board. “M-o-s-t-l-y b-o-r-e-d.”

Jenson’s face grew paler with each letter and he swallowed hard, reaching for Sebastian’s hand to try to regain his composure. “O—okay, guys, who moved it? Fernando?”

“Fernando didn’t move it!” Lewis pointed an accusing finger at the planchette. “It said that by itself. Our house is haunted and none of us are going to make it to another tour. I’ll never see another set of luxury sheets in a bed I don’t have to make again. I’ll have to leave my shoe collection to my brother. It’s all over! Nico, hold me!”

Nico rolled his eyes and playfully pushed him away. “Forget it.”

“I didn’t!” Fernando echoed, increasing his grip on Mark’s upper arm. “Have not touched it since we started.”

“I thought you were on my side! What about friendship? Sticking together through thick and thin? That betrayal hurts, mate.” Jenson mimed stabbing himself in the chest and looked tragic. “So much.”

_Truly Oscar-worthy,_ thought Mark, shaking his head.  _A stirring performance._

“How could he?” Sebastian asked. “Look, he’s been hanging on to Mark the whole time. You’re not scared, are you?”

“Of course not. Is only a stupid game. The stories about Senna are just stories. I made them up.” Fernando’s tone was dismissive but Mark knew better—he was bluffing. Evenings spent being pushed away by Fernando insisting he wasn’t afraid of thunderstorms only to have his ribs ache from the viselike embrace of his trembling boyfriend while thunder rattled their bedroom windows had taught him otherwise. It was an act, the sort of posturing Mark had come to see as further reason for being his little Spanish lion, and one he was aware Fernando couldn’t maintain for long. The question was how long he could make it.

“Are you suuuuure? It _is_ Halloween Eve...”

Nico managed to grab another handful of candy corn seconds before the bag was snatched away from him by Kimi and carefully ate each kernel section by section. “ Literally no one says Halloween Eve, Jenson.”

“Literally no one uses the word literally as often as you,” Jenson retorted.

“Ask the next question already before he gets annoyed and doesn’t answer. He was famous for having a temper, remember?”

Kimi took a sip of pumpkin beer from the bottle Mark had given him earlier and grimaced. “Who drinks this shit?  Look at you the sudden expert.”

“I made a few trips to the library, yeah.” Lewis indicated the stack of books on the coffee table behind him, bits of paper and Post-it notes protruding from their edges, with a legal pad and pen resting on top. “It’s called reading. You guys should try it more often.”

“I read a book about seagulls once,” Sebastian mused mostly to himself, unwrapping his tenth peanut butter cup of the evening and tossing it in his mouth. “It wasn’t very thick, though.”

“Seb...” warned Mark.

“Fine, fine.” He licked melted chocolate off his fingers then placed them gently on top of the planchette. “Are you the reason why I hear footsteps at night?”

“Other than the fact that you live with six other people?” Nico was growing increasingly impatient.

“No, I’m always by myself! It’s like someone’s in the same room but it’s only me. I hear them and when I turn around there’s no one there.”

“I don’t believe in ghosts.”

Jenson grinned. “ Ladies and gentlemen, Nico Rosberg, professional party pooper.”

“And I suppose you didn’t believe in Santa as a kid.”

“Really, Lewis? Not after I turned six.”

Sebastian looked horrified until Jenson put a comforting arm around him. 

_No wonder girls always want to take care of him,_ thought Mark.  _He’s just a kid, even at his age._

“Why is that so terrible?” asked Nico. “I got older.”

“I bet you got coal in your stocking a lot.”

“Grow up, Seb.”

“Never! You grow up, you stop having fun. What the hell is good about that? And since you’re so brave, you can ask the next question after he’s answered mine. Ayrton, are you the reason I hear footsteps at night?”

_Point proven._

“H-e-a-r-d y-o-u t-h-e f-i-r-s-t t-i-m-e. Yes.”

Lewis laughed. “Sorry we’re testing your patience, sir.”

The planchette moved more quickly this time under Sebastian’s fingertips. “A-r-e y-o-u?”

“They must be pushing it,” muttered Fernando. “They must be.”

Mark found himself wishing he could agree, both to soothe Fernando and himself, but as he watched the planchette and the expressions of genuine wonder and shock at the answers he knew he couldn’t. _If it was a game one of them would have given it away five minutes ago. If it was a game I wouldn’t be scared to play._

“Mark?”

He wrapped his arm around Fernando’s waist and drank the rest of his beer, trying to relax. “I’m not sure they are, Nano.”

“Your turn, Princess.” Sebastian moved to one side to make room for Nico. “Hand on the planchette and ask away.”

Nico reached for the planchette. “I’m only doing this because I never back down from a challenge.”

Jenson scoffed. “You bowed out of the ‘how many jammie dodgers can you eat in five minutes’ competition we had last year.”

“I’m trying to stay off sweets.”

“We get it, have to watch your girlish figure,” laughed Sebastian. “Ask.”

“Where were you racing the weekend you were killed?”

“I-m-o-l-a. G-e-t-t-i-n-g b-o-r-e-d.”

Lewis nudged Nico’s hand away from the planchette. “Really. Nico? Man, that’s common knowledge!  I know how we can find out if it’s really him. Watch this...do you miss Alain?”

The planchette moved so quickly it almost pulled Lewis forward.“ Yes.”

“I thought they hated each other!” Jenson exclaimed between Smarties. “Fistfights and all.”

“There is such a thing as forgiveness, even for him.” Ayrton appeared to them then in the armchair, hovering above the seat to compensate for no longer being able to sit without sinking into and subsequently through the cushion, and smirked. “Don’t believe everything you read.”

Lewis instantly fainted into Nico’s arms, making Ayrton raise one eyebrow in suspicion.“What happened to him?”

Jenson laughed. “He’s your biggest fan, that’s all. You’re basically Paul McCartney and he’s a screaming teenage girl. He’ll come round in a few minutes.”

“I haven’t got a few minutes. Those boards only open a connection for a limited time and besides, if I have to answer any more questions I think I might get more rest hanging around where I died. What do you want?”

“A limited time?” asked Kimi. “This shit actually works?”

Ayrton nodded. “The newer models are more reliable. Whose idea was it to get an old one?”

Sebastian nudged Jenson, who smiled sheepishly. “Mine. Sorry about that.”

Ayrton ignored him, his steely gaze falling on Nico then Fernando. “So much for not believing, yes?”

Both men nodded, swallowing hard.

“Better.”

Lewis blinked his eyes open and almost immediately looked starstruck. “It’s an honor! I’ve read all about you. You’re a legend.”

Ayrton bowed his head in genuine modesty, though his smile suggested otherwise. “So I’ve heard. I’m going now.”

“Wait!” Lewis pleaded. “I have questions!”

“I’m going back to bed. Don’t come looking for me.” Ayrton bent forward to pick up the planchette then gradually vanished, leaving only a sudden blast of cold air in the room that made everyone shiver. “Especially not with this.”

“Everyone to bed immediately.” Mark couldn’t hide the tremor in his voice. “We’ve had enough excitement for tonight. Brush your teeth and off you go. We’ll talk about this in the morning.”

Lewis was the first to stand, blowing out candles on his way toward the stairs. “I guess that’s why they say never meet your heroes.”

Nico took him by the hand and kissed his cheek. “I’m sorry I doubted you. Let’s get some sleep. You’re probably the most tired of all.”

Mark looked up from running his fingers through Fernando’s hair. “Mate, you have no idea.”

 

Later on in bed, drifting off with a terrified Fernando still clinging to him, Mark felt his shoulder being shaken until he couldn’t pretend to be completely asleep any longer. “ Hmm. What is it?”

“What was that noise?”

“Probably just Ayrton settling in for the night. It’s fine, buddy, go back to sleep.”

Fernando burrowed under the blankets and covered his head. “ Did not sound like footsteps. We probably have a house full of ghosts. Maybe next year we move.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in ghosts,” murmured Mark. “Changed your mind now that you’ve seen one...in the flesh, so to speak?”

“Have been around Sebastian too long.”

“Probably. I’m sure it’s fine. No man, living or dead, is going to keep me from sharing this bed in this house with you. I promise. Go back to sleep. I love you.” He rubbed Fernando’s back through the blankets until at last he felt him relax against him.

“I love you too, but...Mark?”

He sighed. “Yes, Nano?”

“Is getting too cold here. Maybe we still move to Australia, just earlier than planned.”

Mark grinned, suddenly wondering if one day his wedding vows would need to say ‘for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, and in freezing and warmth’, and hugged Fernando tightly. “We’ll see. Sweet dreams.”

“Sweet dreams.”

Ayrton watched from the doorway and glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand, unable to contain a mischievous grin as it struck midnight. “That’s what you think. Happy Halloween.”


End file.
